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No matter who you are - you are welcome hereSun, 01 Mar 2015 15:30:43 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Whose Vision Do We Carry?, by Rev Steven R Mitchellhttp://mtviewchurch.com/whose-vision-do-we-carry-by-rev-steven-r-mitchell/
http://mtviewchurch.com/whose-vision-do-we-carry-by-rev-steven-r-mitchell/#commentsSun, 01 Mar 2015 15:30:43 +0000http://mtviewchurch.com/?p=6885Whose Vision Do We Carry?

By Rev Steven R Mitchell

Mountain View United, Aurora, CO 3/1/2013

Based on Mark 8:31-38

This past Wednesday I drove a father and his two boys of second and third grade age from the airport to a destination in the Highlands in Denver. Because of the snow, it was a very slow drive of over two hours on I-70. As we were nearing our destination the dad commended his boys on being very patient travelers. Then he made the comment, “After all boys, it’s the journey not the destination that counts.” I agreed with the father, except I suspect at their age it is totally the destination that is important and not the journey.

As we enter into the second week of Lent, it is the journey that we should be thinking about and asking questions that focus on our Lenten journey. The gospel of Mark is a story about Jesus’ journey, a journey that leads Jesus to the cross. One of our primary questions that we should be asking ourselves during this season of Lent is, “what does it mean to be a faithful disciple of Jesus?” As Jesus began his three year journey toward the cross, he went out into the dessert for 40 days so he could do some personal reflection. I suspect one of the major questions that Jesus was asking himself was, “What does it mean to be Jesus?” If Jesus was asking himself this question, then I suggest that it is equally important for us to ask the question of ourselves, “What does it mean to be me?” For it is within the answer to that question we are then ready to answer with integrity the question of “what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus.” For it is in understanding clearly “what it means to be me”, that we are then able to determine, “whose vision we carry”, both as a Christian and as a congregation.

Think back (for those of us who are old enough) to when you were in high school. One of the primary activities that each of us would have been involved in would be asking ourselves the question of “what does it mean to be me.” To be me, “do I need to follow the crowd in order to be popular?” “Do I conform to listen to the music the group says is cool, or do I dare to listen to what I find more gratifying?” “Do I wear my hair in a Justin Bieber cut or wear a Mohawk because I like the statement of independence that it suggests?” “Does my character allow me to cheat on an exam when given the opportunity, or is it ‘the me’ who decides it is better to study hard in order to pass the exam?”

When we are raising a family, we often ask what does it mean to be a parent. Do I still live for my own personal enjoyment or do I put my children before myself? Singer/actor Bet Middler over the past thirty-five years has made a number of family movies with Disney, but prior to that she was well known to be a rather risqué performer. When asked why the change, she said, “I realized as a mother, I didn’t want my daughter to know me as that kind of person.”

The question, “what does it mean to be me”, goes deeper than our character, it asks about who we are at the “soul level” of our being. I want to re-read for you this passage of scripture, but with my feeble attempt to update the language in hopes of making it relate more to how we understand things. “Then Jesus began to share with them that the work to achieve ‘God’s dream’ must undergo great obstacles and setbacks, and be rejected by the philosophy of consumerism, by Wall Street, and by the politicians killing legislation for social justice and environmental responsibilities in lieu of self-interests, but truth will rise again. Jesus said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to warn Jesus about the dangers of being so publically vocal on social justice issues. But turning and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get out of my site, lover of the world’s ideals! For you are setting your heart not on God’s dream, but on human desires and standards.” Jesus spoke to the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny their comforts and follow what they know to be right. For those who want to live by human desires and standards will lose themselves, and those who chose God’s dream of justice, will find true life!”

You see, the troubles in the world are not sustained by the world, but rather by what is going on in our own hearts. The troubles and the solutions exist in the, “what does it mean to be me” questions. What is it that really is most important in my life? Is it more important to bend to the will of my job that promises more money and stability in order to provide a standard of living that others say is important, which generally means I have to sacrifice my family in order to comply. Is it more important to me to satisfy my desires at the expense of those that are most closely tied to me? Am I comfortably content in my abundance, while others that I know struggle for daily survival – is that what it means to be me?

Jesus wasn’t saying that Peter is Satan. Jesus was telling Peter that his heart was still thinking at the level of human desire. The problem in the world isn’t so much others, as it is the “me.” God has a dream for the world, a dream that has true equality for all humanity, a dream where every person has “enough” for each day, without being judged as to “why’ can’t they achieve what “I’ve” got. God has a dream that justice and mercy is the standard that each of us thinks of first. The poor, the needy, the helpless will always be with us, says Jesus. That is something that we will never be free from, but it is in how we address those who are marginalized that determines who we are. It is in how we strive to include those on the fringe of society that Jesus says he will know who we are and whether we acted as if we know Jesus.

As we come this morning to the table of Christ, we can read through the gospel stories “who Jesus” finally defined himself as. I hope that during this Lenten season, you take the time to create some “wilderness time” in your life, so you too can ask yourself “what it means to be me”, so you can determine “whose vision you carry.” Amen

This past Tuesday Salem UCC hosted the annual Shrove Tuesday celebration. One of the games that we played was “Name that tune.” So I thought in the spirit of Mardi Gras I would read some lyrics from a song and see if you can name that tune. “Some boys try and some boys lie, but I don’t let them play, no way, no way. Only boys that save their pennies make my rainy day. Cause we are living in a material world and I am a material girl. You know that we are living in a material world and I am a material girl.” (the song is Material Girl by Madonna) One more song and the hint is it comes from a Broadway Musical. “Never thought that I’d ever live this life. Money stacked in rolls, honeys on each side. Anything I want, I can say it’s mine. No more worries about how can I provide.” Need another hint? “Money makes the world go round. Hey, makes the world go round. Money makes the world go round.” (title is Money Makes the World go round)

I would like to share an ancient monastic folklore. Once upon a time, a disciple traveled for miles to sit at the feet of an old nun who had acquired an unusual reputation for holiness. People came from far and wide simply to watch her work, to listen to her chant, to hear her comment on the scriptures. What the seeker found when he finally reached the site of her hermitage, however, was only a tiny little woman sitting on the floor of a bare room plaiting straw baskets alone. Shocked, the seeker said, “Old woman, where are your books? Where are your chair and footstool? Where are your bed and mattress?”

And the old woman answered him back, “And where are yours?” “But I’m only passing through,” the seeker said. “And so am I,” said the old woman knowingly. Pg 122, The Ten Commandments, by Joan Chittister As we begin the first week of Lent, we come to the last of God’s ten words to us, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This commandment addresses the deepest issue of human kind – that of emptiness. I think it most appropriate as we enter the season dedicated to reflection upon our lives that we start off by looking at the deepest affliction that affects us all – the sense that we are not fulfilled in some way.

In the late 1970’s, President Jimmy Carter was quoted in Playboy magazine saying that “He had committed lust in his heart”. One of Americas most morally revered President’s admitted that at least once in his life, he had “coveted” a woman. To some this admission was highly scandalous. I think this is an amazing show of moral character for a leader to share that he has issues of the heart. What bothered me with the reactions across our nation was the majority sense of “what’s wrong with that? He didn’t act upon it,” to the out and out “who cares” attitude. The idea of “covet” is wanting something that you don’t possess, going beyond that of a desire into obsession.

The deeper question is, “what creates that desire to ‘covet’?” The act of coveting is rooted in “lust.” Jesus said it this way, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:27-28) Jesus here combines the seventh commandment with the tenth, suggesting that even thinking about killing, or adultery, or theft, or lying, constitutes the act itself.pg 128 The Ten Commandments, John Holbert this makes use all guilty at this level of activity!

I don’t know if you have noticed but as a scripture reference for the last few commandments I have added these two verses, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3 For when we truly begin to believe in these two verses, we start to realize that there is only one thing in life that truly matters. Every major religion teaches this truth in one form or another. To the Hindu, the process is made plain in the sanyasi, the seeker who leaves all things – life, career, family – to seek the God within. In Buddhism, the purpose of life is to achieve nirvana, the state of desirelessness in which all suffering disappears and the seeker sinks into the flow of the universe without expectations, without demands. In Islam, it is the witness of the Sufi, who remind us that there is a life above what we call life in which creature and creator come to one heart, one mind, even now, even here. In Hebrew, it is in the culmination that comes from the realization that the mystical awareness of the One God to which the first commandment leads us, is everything, is enough, is all there is, is what life is really about. Pg124, The Ten Commandments, by Joan Chittister

There is a story about an exhausted American businessman who traveled to a faraway island for a vacation. Every day he went to the beach to swim, and every day he found a native there slowly cleaning fish in his boat. “Do you catch fish every day?” the visitor asked. “Oh, yes,” the native said. “Plenty fish here.” “Well, the visitor asked. “how often do you fish?” “I fish every morning,” the native said. “But what do you do then?” the businessman asked. “Well, “ the native said, “first I clean the fish for supper, then I take a little siesta, then I build a bit on my house, then I eat with my family, and then, for the rest of the night, I play my guitar, visit with my friends, and drink my homemade wine.”

“But don’t you see?” the visitor asked, “If you fished all day, you could sell your fish, buy a bigger boat, hire helpers, can, pack, and sell your fish all over the world, and make a lot of money.” “But what would I do with it?” the native replied. “Why, you could buy a house, quit working, enjoy your family, take big vacations, and party with your friends for the rest of your life!” “Mister,” the native said to the businessman, “that’s what I’m doing now and I only have to catch one fish a day to do it.” Pg127, The Ten Commandments, by Joan ChittisterOf course this story talks about the gnawing hunger that lust can have on our soul.

There is a healthy need to work to provide those things that we need in life”, a roof over our heads, food to eat, clothes to keep us warm and hide our modesty, and enough for diversion through play. But when we fail to fill our hearts with God then we move toward the unhealthy desire of lust, which is excess. Every week we pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” The belief in this phrase is that God will provide us with what we need: enough food, enough shelter, enough friends, enough love. It is in the disbelief of this that things like “covet” start to root it’s self into our heart. The sin of lust isn’t in the desire of having, as much as it is in the lack of trust we have in God.

As start our journey into Lent this year, let us truly dwell on the word from God, “I am the Lord your God.” I can think of no greater joy that will comfort our hearts than to truly understand the power in that one statement, for it is the assurance that we are in community with the One who dreams only the best for us. Amen

As I continue to study each of these ten words from God individually, one of the most compelling themes that I see within each commandment is not just the negative effect on the person who is violated by the violation of anyone of these commandments, but more importantly the effect that the violation has on the one how breaks the commandment. Remember that early on in this study I suggested that we do not look at each of these commandments as “rules”, but rather as guidelines to live by. Guidelines give us direction, where “rules” give the allure to be broken just because they are rules, and of course, with breaking a rule comes consequences. The reality is there are also consequences when we deviate from a guideline.

For example, when you go out hiking in the mountains, there are trails that we are asked to follow – the guideline. We don’t have to following that trail, we can stray off and make our own path. By going off the marked path doesn’t mean that anything bad will happen to us, but what it does mean is we are walking in unknown territory. We do not know what lies ahead of us, it could be something beautiful or it could be filled with lots of danger. Sometimes we can unknowingly do harm when we deviate from the guideline – such as destroying a part of the eco-system by stepping on plants that might not recover from the damage done by of our feet.

This week we are looking at the Ninth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness.” As I contemplated during week about what I was going to say about this commandment, I found no shortage of personal stories of how I was affected when “bearing false witness” was involved. In fact I could hundreds of examples about the follies and destruction that takes place when we do not tell the truth. What I realized is that this is possibly the most “personal” of any of the Ten Commandments. Personal because each of us has participated in both telling lies and being lied to. And because of this so personal of commandments, I think we need less examples, because we already have our own, but could use another way of seeing this commandment.

We know that lying breaks trust. When we steal from somebody, we are stealing things, things that can be replaced. Much of the time, these things are insured so we might not even have to put out much money in order to replace it. But when we lie to someone, we are breaking the bond of trust, and trust is something that often can never be recovered. I love watching the Vampire Diaries. One of the re-occurring activities brought out in this T.V. series, is the disasters that happen when people are either directly lied too or intentionally kept out of the loop of information, on the theory that keeping the secret or lying outright will keep that person safe, which it doesn’t. Every soap opera, every opera, every novel tells of the same story – lying doesn’t do anything but destroy trust. And what do you have in a relationship once “trust” is gone?

This year some of us are studying the book The First Christmas, which might seem strange studying the birth narratives when generally one focuses on something that leads to the Easter story. In reality, this book does lead to the Easter story, by taking an in-depth look at why in the four Gospels only two, Matthew and Luke, share the story of Jesus’ birth. One of the most important questions asked in that study by one who is attending this Lenten study was, “if we start to dismantle a part of the scripture from the way that we have historically been taught to look at it and are told that this is the more factual way to understand it, then does that mean that other parts of the scripture are not factual and by not being factual does this mean it isn’t telling us the truth? If any part of the scripture isn’t telling us the truth, then is our faith just a lie?” Truth is the most foundational principle that we need in order to build a relationship. Our faith is God, comes with believing a truth, if that truth is violated, then the relationship with God becomes violated. So in our study of this book, we are wrestling with trying to understand what Matthew and Luke were trying to tell us, when most of the story involves acts that go against what we know about physics and natural law.

Words are an amazing thing. How many of us think about the words that we speak as being sacred? Why are our words sacred, Pastor? I’m glad you asked. Speech is sacred because it is godlike. It creates our world! How we speak to an infant will either help that child grow in a positive view of themselves or it can destroy the beautiful creation that they are.

Sister Joan Chittister puts it this way: To speak is to make a reality. To speak a falsehood about anyone or anything is to profane the self. But it also violates creation as God has made it by naming it something other than it is. It undermines the kind of trust the human community needs to function together as one family of God. It erodes personal relationships. It countermines the credibility of the self. But more than this, lying obscures the real self- even from the self.In lying, we begin to lose touch with what we really think, really feel, who we really are. When we speak with half-truths, those lies reduce us to a false self, because it violates the image of God in us. Pg 101-102, The Ten Commandments by Joan Chittister

The really interesting thing is that it takes from the one who lies as well as from the one who is lied about. Lies go on in a way that stealing never does. People can recover with restitution. But lies blanket both the lied-about and the liars in suspicion, mistrust, and dishonor forever.” Pg 106, The Ten Commandments by Joan Chittister

As Joan Chittister notes about the Ninth Commandment, “You shall not lie” is the spiritual mandate that is meant to save a great deal more than our reputations. It is a commandment meant to preserve an entire people from the cancer of mistrust, the individual from the pitfalls of pride, and the society from living with the corrosive effects of a culture of deceit.” Pg 106, The Ten Commandments by Joan Chittister As we leave here this morning, let us remember that even the littlest of lies, those that we call “white lies” are the seeds that will corrupt any relationship, but more pointedly, will be the seeds that start to eat away at our very humanity. “You shall not bear false witness” goes so much deeper than just lying, it affects who we are as a person. AmenLiar

This morning I wish to start off by asking two questions. First question: How many of you think that you have stolen this week? The second question is: What does the eighth commandment mean to you (You shall not steal)? [read Acts 5:1-4] I suppose the question for this morning’s discussion is how we define the act “to steal.” The majority of the answers giving point toward “personal”, generally about personal property.

When I was in First grade, there was a classmate of mine, named Vina Mae. Vina Mae was not like the rest of us physically or mentally. Because of these differences Vina Mae often was teased in very unkind ways. When I talked to my mother about this, my mother explained to me that Vina Mae had had an illness that created these differences and that it was not nice to make fun of her because it wasn’t her fault for being the way that she was. My mother thought she was teaching me a lesson about social behavior, of social graces, and treating people with courtesy, but she was also teaching me “not to steal!” If I had joined in with the larger group of children in making fun of Vina Mae, I would have been guilty of stealing a part of Vina Mae’s dignity as a human being, as a child of God.

Let me share another example that is more obvious. In the corporate world the typical CEO’s salary is directly tied to the profitability of the company. That seems to make sense to most people, at least to the stock holders of these companies because they continue to support this philosophy. In Germany, the COE on the average earns 21 times as much as the average worker; in Japan, 16 times as much as the average worker. In 1980, the CEO’s of U.S. corporations received 42 times the wage of the average worker. By 1990, the ratio had risen to 85 times the pay of the average worker. In 2000, it was 531 times greater than the workers whose labor made their profits possible. It is a sad fact that lobbyists for these Corporations continue to insist that tax breaks are needed to secure the profit margins of these wealthiest companies, while working toward cutting Government spending on welfare programs. Pg 87, The Ten Commandments, Laws of the Heart, by Sister Joan Chittister

I chose the reading in Acts as an example of how “you shall not steal” was understood in the Hebrew mind. In the act of Ananias secretly withholding, he was not only lying to the community and to God, but more importantly, in this lie he was stealing from the community. Why was it stealing? Had Ananias said to the community that when he sold his property that he was going to keep some of it for himself, he would not have been stealing. But he had pledged to give all of the proceeds from the sale to the community. When he secretly kept for himself some of the proceeds, he broke his commitment to the community and stole from the community that which was rightfully theirs. (There’s a strong message in stewardship in that story.)

It seems to be human nature to be greedy and possessive. Out of this reality, the Israelites wrote laws, not to protect the rich from the poor but to protect the poor from being exploited by the rich; Laws that required the outer portions of a field of grain to be left for the poor to come and glean. There were laws that forbid the harvesters from picking up any of the grain that fell from the cart on the way the store houses, so those who had no access to food would have some way of finding food to eat. Giving money to beggars was required, even for the poor, there were requirements to give a few pennies to the general community once a year so that those worse off than the poor would have resources to meet basic human needs such as food.

The Hebrew mindset understood this law as being given to protect the larger community from the greed of the individual. … this commandment was to protect the common property of the clan: the water well, the grazing land, the sheep, from being expropriated by the individual for the sake of personal profit. It is very much like the understanding of the American Indians having about the ownership of land and goods. Both the ancient Hebrew and the American Indian, understood that God was the owner of the earth and all that comes from the earth and that they were only stewards, caretakers of God’s property and resources. Pg 87, The Ten Commandments, Laws of the Heart, by Sister Joan Chittister. Sounds a bit communal or even communistic doesn’t it. In fact this understanding flies in the face of consumerism.

In today’s world, we understand this commandment (do not steal) to be the function of criminal law that protects the property of the rich from the greed of the poor, where as the understanding of the early listeners was that this commandment was to protect the poor from the greed of the rich. To the Israelite, God owned the land; it had been “loaned” to them for the welfare of all. To deprive any member of the community of their share, to deprive them of their needs, was to sin against God. 87, The Ten Commandments, Laws of the Heart, by Sister Joan Chittister

There were no provisions in the laws about cutting off resources of the poor in order for the rich to become richer. Yet today, our politicians each fiscal year are looking for ways to trim social service programs in order to increase our defense budgets and increase their salaries and health benefits at a time when much of the country is in economic crisis. What is wrong with this picture? Who is stealing from who.

Stealing in the biblical sense, is not so much a private or personal sin as it is a social sin. To take what we do not need, to destroy what is useful to another, to deprive those in the community of their basic needs is stealing. As stock holders in a corporation we should be outraged at golden parachute scenarios that come at the expense of giving it’s laborers adequate shares in the profits, yet we do nothing.

If we dare say publically that we want to live a biblical life, then we need to seriously examine what we do with this commandment of “you shall not steal.” As a culture, we are given time and time again examples of stealing, some acceptable and some when caught are criminalized. Corporations have skimmed off the top of employee’s pension funds, sometimes to the point of bankrupting those funds, leaving the employee without retirement income – stealing. Presidents do it by siphoning off money from one project to another without submitting the transaction for the Congressional approval that is required – stealing. Manufacturers do it by inflating the size of the product box without increasing the product and then charging more for it – stealing. Vendors do it by charging what the traffic will bear rather than what the item is worth – stealing. Now we are plagued with elections being stolen by banning voters, losing ballot boxes, and programming computer voting machines – stealing. Any law written and put into practice that is for the benefit of the few at the expense of the majority is stealing from the community.

I asked you at the beginning of this reflection of how many of you stole this week? I ask you to go home and go over your expenses and ask yourself once again in private if you have been stealing this week. Take a look at what it is that you have been spending your money on, what you buy? To whom do you give? What don’t you buy? To whom do you not give? By looking at your financial report, you will know your theology of life. Did you forgo giving something for personal benefit that would have benefited the larger community? Did you keep back monies you promised God so that you could gain some personal item or pleasure? Do you forgo pledging a biblical understanding of giving a tithe because it means you will not be able to take one of the four vacations you wish to take?

Stealing comes in many forms and at many levels. Ananias, didn’t have to give everything to the community, but he broke his commitment to the community. Possessing goods and money is not the sin in “you shall not steal”, but taking advantage of those who have less, supporting systems that deny people the basic necessities of life, that is stealing. It’s stealing from them and it is stealing away our personal humanity a little bit at a time. As citizens in this country, we all fall subject to the eighth commandment in the most obscene way, the fact that we rarely think about or recognize how we are stealing. Amen

(standing in pulpit with a paper grocery bag over my head with cut-outs for my eyes and mouth – the likeness of the Unknown Comic of the 1970’s)

Does anyone know who I am representing? Yes that is correct, the unknown comic. For those of you who are not familiar with him, he would come out on stage and deliver a great monologue of jokes wearing a paper sack over his head so no one knew what he looked like. I often wondered if this was just a gimmick or did it allow the anonymity he needed in order to have the freedom to tell his jokes?

While studying Wisdom Literature in Seminary, I was required to give a report on the Song of Solomon, chosen by the professor, who also happened to be the Dean of Students. Just before my presentation one of my fellow students handed me a cartoon that showed a picture of a husband and wife sitting out in the congregation. The pastor was in the pulpit wearing a paper sack over his head. The caption had the wife saying to the husband, “The sermon must be on the Song of Solomon.” There were six of us students giving reports on this particular book. The other five students gave a summation of this book of poetry being a metaphor about the relationship between Christ and the Church. A widely held stance back in the 1980’s by traditional theologians. I summarized this beautiful writing as being pornographic writing about a man and his beloved, hence the cartoon of the minister wearing a paper bag over his head. Even though I seemed out of step with my fellow students, the Dean was totally supportive of my conclusions. The fact of the matter being, discussions around sexuality is not just very uncomfortable in our society, but is almost a forbidden topic from the pulpit

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a man who lives down in Parker, CO. In this letter, I as the pastor and you as the congregation were being chastised not only for our open stance on “homosexuality”, but also for the fact that in our website we do not speak specifically about the need to repent from sinful acts. By his estimation we basically ignore the warnings that God has given us through the scriptures. What he was pointing out is most certainly true from his point of view and understanding. Even though as a formal stance of not taking the scripture literally, we do however, take the scriptures seriously – so seriously do I take the scriptures that I tend to tread in areas that are spoken and addressed in scripture but often are not spoken in public from the pulpit, such as “sexuality.” So this morning, I once again find myself speaking about a topic that definitely is uncomfortable for me in a public forum, but done so because I do take scripture seriously.

“You shall not commit Adultery”, so what is adultery? How we generally understand adultery is not how it was understood when this document in Exodus was written. Let me ask those of you who are married [For those of us who are in same-sex marriages, don’t get upset, because 3,000 years ago, marriage was pretty much only between a man and a woman.], “How many of you were pronounced: man and wife? How many of you were pronounced: husband and wife?” Does anyone know what the difference might be between these two pronouncements? Also, can anyone tell me why the minister used to ask the question: Is there anyone who knows why these two shall not be married? If so speak now or forever hold their peace?

In the pronouncing of “man and wife” it is supporting the understanding that the woman once married, belonged to whomever she was marrying off to. She was nothing more than property. The reason why the minister asked the question about anyone knowing any reason that the bride should not be given to the groom was a legal question, dealing about proper ownership. In other words, was this piece of property legally available to be owned by the groom? We as a society have moved beyond this concept of marriage. In general, two people do not marry out of family arrangements, for political alliance, or protection of property, or inheritance, but we marry out of love. No longer do we view the woman as a man’s property, although many men may feel that once married, they own their spouse. This is the reason why most wedding ceremony pronounce the married couple as “husband and wife” and few ministers asks the question “for reasons not to be married.”

Coming back to the original question about how is adultery defined – up until the change of the reason for married, when women were viewed as property, the definition of adultery, was a man having sexual relations with a married woman who was not his wife. A man could have sexual relationships with an unmarried woman and that would not be considered “adultery”. In fact, from a historical stance, men were allowed to have sexual relationships with any unmarried woman. Fornication is sexual relationships outside of the marriage bond, between a man and a woman, the man did not have to be single, but the woman could not be married, for if she was, that constituted adultery. Adultery then, was a violation against a man’s property; a taking of another man’s property – punishable by death.

Well that was then and this is now. Now we understand adultery in a much broader way. I remember my mother telling me that from a biblical stance, she was an adulterer, because she had been married, divorced and then married to a second man. My son does not allow his mother and her husband to stay overnight in his home because of his definition of adultery. So, if we don’t take the bible literally but do take it seriously, how are we to understand and define adultery?

It definitely focuses around sexual relationships, but I think it goes much deep and involves the concept of commitment, not just to the one that we have pledged our life to, but to the larger community. This commitment might include children born in a marriage, there are the extended family members, even others outside of family, such as a church community if that couple belong to a faith community, it even affects the social fabric of the community in which we live, even if we do not know these people directly.

I remember a conversation I had with a man that I dated many years ago, who was a former Top Gun pilot in the Navy. He was at that time in the reserves and had been on training in Japan. Up to that point he had never been inclined to see marriage or a formalized commitment in any form as anything but restrictive. He told me that while coming home, for the first time, knowing that there was someone waiting at the airport for his return that he could understand the excitement that those married men had and that he finally realized an actual freedom that comes in a committed relationship.

That is the foundation for any relationship – the freedom to grow. Marriage is a relationship that goes beyond sex into the realm of intimacy. Intimacy is that state of being vulnerable enough that allows you to grow. This vulnerability can only be cultivated in the safety of commitment. When we think in terms of what adultery does to a relationship – adultery is seldom what really destroys a relationship, but rather signals that the relationship has already deteriorated.

What does intimacy in a relationship take? It takes time, patience, trust, honesty, forgiveness, and emotional stability. All of this takes surrender to the process of growth – individually and as a couple. I think this is why our hearts are warmed whenever we see a couple who are in their 70’s or 80’s walking together down a street holding hands. It reminds us of the beauty that commitment to one another brings. Not just companionship, but of true intimacy.

And here is the kicker – Sister Joan Chittister says: Love that lasts, that invests itself in the welfare of another, is the only human proof we have of the nature of the God who is “with us all days,” who is constant and whose constancy we can count on. “You shall not commit adultery” is the word that calls us to truly care about the people we say we love. Not to use them. Not to exploit them. Not to ignore them. Not to patronize them. Not to manipulate them for the sake of our own satisfaction. People are not toys or trophies to be collected and abandoned. The people we love are those to whom we commit our lives, entrust our futures, and share ourselves so that both we and they – they and we – can grow into fully loving people. In this relationship, two equals are meant to become more together than they ever could be alone. That is the intimacy that cannot be compromised – that cannot be abused – if we ourselves are, as the Hebrews knew in their eternal contract with one another, ever really to become whole.Pg 78-80, The Ten Commandments: Laws of the Heart, Sister Joan Chittister I also believe it to translate into our spiritual lives with God. Do we look at God as owning us, or do we look at God as being a partner? When we see God as our partner in life, the intimacy that can develop as two equals means becoming more together than we could ever by alone. Amen

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, a day where we honor as a nation one of America’s greatest voices for unity and dignity of all human kind. It is the 47th anniversary come April 4, when Rev Dr King Jr., was killed by an assassins bullet. Ironic isn’t it, that a man who advocated peaceful change and passive resistance died through an act of murder. A man who was passionate about the quality of life for not just the African American, but for all peoples of this country, because he knew that when one person is seen as less, then we all are less.

Today, we continue our look at the Ten Words from God. The sixth commandment “You shall not kill” seems pretty straight forward. Yet, I cannot imagine a more controversial topic to ever try and speak upon. For a pastor, this topic is one of the top ten on the list of “No Win” subjects. Why? Because everyone has already figured out what the “correct” answer is to this commandment.

Why is this commandment not so straight forward? Knowing that all the commandments are built upon each other, we know through the first commandment that God is God, supreme in all that exists and has the power to free us from slavery. We know through the second commandment that God has authority over all life. So why the confusion about the sixth commandment? This commandment is confusing because there are numerous laws following this commandment that speak about what to do with someone who has killed. There are numerous passages that speak about the legitimacy of killing, as examples: the stoning to death of an unruly child, of adulterers, of fornicators, of homosexuals, those who worship false gods. In one of my most favorite passages from Ecclesiastes it speaks about a “time to kill and a time heal”, which I like to use in wedding ceremonies as a springboard to the various ways we can kill love within a relationship. The scriptures are full of contradictions around the concept of rightness and wrongness of killing.

A second reason for the confusion is in the understanding of what does “to kill” mean, within the evolution of the Hebrew people. If you look at the same Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy (chapter 5:17) you see a change in wording to:“You shall not murder”, which seems to change the whole focus of what might or might not be allowable, a sort of loophole. We understand the word “kill” to mean the taking of life for any reason and in all forms. We understand the word “murder” to mean a criminal act. So how are we to interpret what the intent of this commandment was? Not how we try to manipulate to support our personal opinions, but what was the original intent of “do not kill”. This is where the preacher enters into the “no win” zone.

We make up reasons all the time to kill: we kill to preserve the state; we kill to protect the self; we kill to punish wrongdoers; we kill to enforce authority; we kill for political reasons; we kill whole segments of society – strip their lands, rape their forests, soil their air – to satisfy whole other segments of society. Pg 70, The Ten Commandments, by Sister Joan Chittester. These all pertain to physical killing. There is not enough time this morning to go into how we kill emotionally or kill some ones character.

About 5 or 6 yrs ago the movie “Avator” came out with an amazingly in-depth message about the sanctity of life and various views on what justifies killing to American audiences. It brought to light, the approach of justifying the destruction of not just human life but of the ecology by an imperialist society. The indigenous people, the Nahavey, understood the sacredness of life and how all plants and beasts were connected. The invaders from earth never understood this sanctity of life and because of that lack of understanding brought death and destruction; a killing of life not just on the planet Pandora, but of their own planet earth.

In all of recorded human history, over 60% of all war deaths have occurred in the Twentieth Century. In just the past two years, after the mass shooting at the elementary school in Sandy Hook, CT, there have been 95 more mass shootings across this nation at schools. In Florida, the Superior courts have upheld the right to kill a person by “reasonable fear of safety”, and we have many instances of accidental gun violence. Is abortion murder or is it killing? War, is it justifiable killing or murder? When actress Mae West was having a battle with the Hayes Commission who was trying to censor her sexual innuendos as being immoral, she is reported to say,”I will tell you what is immoral. Sending our boys off to war, killing one another, that is immoral!” Capital punishment is it a deterrent or is it murder?

To add to this confusion, we as Christians try to follow the examples that Jesus set while here on earth. Like Rev Dr King, Jr, Jesus also preached a non-violent revolution and was executed by the state. For the first couple of centuries, the Christian church in general followed a philosophy of pacifism until it was sanctioned by the Roman Emperor Constantine as the legitimate church of the state in the Third Century.

I think when we argue the differences between “killing” and “murder”, trying to legitimize one over the other, we are missing the intent of this commandment. What this commandment is pointing toward, I believe, is the understanding and struggle about the “Sanctity of life.” When we think in terms of being made in God’s image and what that means about all of creation, the focus of “sanctity of life” starts to bring in a much broader view about “what is life”? I wish to play a video that addresses this question in a very compelling apology (meaning statement of theological belief) about the commandment “You shall not kill.” [youtube video: January is Sanctity of Life month, by Focus on the Family]

As this video speaks about the sanctity of life is a world view, it makes being prolife an issue that goes beyond the topic of abortion, it speaks about how we should regard life in general. The Third Parliament of the World’s Religions met in 1999 in Cape Town, S. Africa. The first Parliament of the World’s Religions met in 1893 in Chicago, to address the issues of Religion in the world and focus on the commonalities of differing faiths instead of the things that separate religious groups. In the 1999 assembly, this Parliament agreed on a document called Global Ethic’s. There were four central ethical principles, one of these principles being “you shall not kill.” Life, every religion in the world said, was to be affirmed, protected, honored, and sustained. Pg 70, The Ten Commandments, by Sister Joan Chittester

Maybe it’s time for us to look at this commandment in a different way – of turning the wording from a negative into a positive. Instead of focusing on “You shall not kill”, how would we approach the topic of sanctity of life by saying, “you shall enable life!” Would that not help change the view of Medicare and Social Security, and food stamps, and unemployment compensation from being simple “social programs” into the essence of what it means to sustain life for others, to make life livable for everyone? Maybe the greatest sin against the sixth commandment, “You shall not kill”, may be indifference to what goes on that is sapping life out of the world around us. Is not the underlying principal of “salvation of humankind”, the making of everything that affects the quality of our life’s the concern of quality for all lives? Pg 70- 72, The Ten Commandments, by Sister Joan Chittester

Rev Dr King, Jr had a dream, Jesus of Nazareth had a dream. Both were the dream of the sanctity of life. Let us honor that dream by practicing “You shall enable life!” Amen

]]>http://mtviewchurch.com/the-ten-words-from-god-pt-5-the-law-of-life-by-rev-steven-r-mitchell/feed/0Annual Congregational Business Meetinghttp://mtviewchurch.com/annual-congregational-business-meeting/
http://mtviewchurch.com/annual-congregational-business-meeting/#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2015 16:29:23 +0000http://mtviewchurch.com/?p=6873Dear Friends, It is once again time for our Annual Business Meeting. The Annual Congregational Business Meeting

will be held on January 25, 2015, at 11 a.m. following worship service. We will vote on the 2015 budget and election of new council/committee members. There is a potluck lunch at this time as well. You are encouraged to attend this vital meeting.

Also, there will be a congregational meeting this coming Sunday, January 11th, to discuss this years proposed budget as well as discussions on needed “by-law” changes. This meeting will begin following worship. We hope you will come and join in on these discussions.

“We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain following yonder star. O Stare of wonder, star of night. Star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy Perfect Light.”

For many, Christmas is over and in many households the symbol of Christmas, the Christmas Tree has been taken down. In the stores, the only reminders of Christmas are on the 50% or more racks, discounted to make room for the next Holiday. Yet, as we come this morning to worship, the Christian Church celebrates today as the second Sunday of Christmas. In fact we have just two days left in celebrating Christmas Tide, or rather the season of Christmas. On Tuesday we move into the celebration of Epiphany, which reminds us of the day that the world was introduced to the baby Jesus.

One of the sad things about taking down the Christmas decorations is the absence of light that comes with those decorations. One of the joys that Paul and I experienced our first winter here in Aurora was to notice how many residences left their outdoor lighting turned on after the New Year. In Seattle, many families burn their outdoor Christmas lights well into March, as a way of combating the dreariness and darkness of the winter.

For Christians, Light and darkness hold very symbolic meanings within our scriptures and our music. Light and darkness also hold deep symbolism in the Hebrew Scriptures as well as in writings of all major world religions. Our very use of lights at Christmas testifies there “is magic in light.” The very first story in the book of Genesis, the first thing that God creates is “light.” “On the first day, God said: Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness… And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”This light is not the light of the sun, moon, and stars: they are not created until the fourth day. Rather, the light of the first day of creation is primordial light, the light that existed before sun, moon, and stars. The First Christmas, Marcus Borg, pg 174

Whether we recognize it or not, light and darkness evoke a great deal of emotion within us. This fear of danger with darkness or feeling of safety in the light, is much more subtle in modern civilization than with our ancestors. With the flip of a switch, we control light and darkness. We flip the switch up and lights come on, we flip the switch down and lights go out. In fact we have developed technology the turns the lights on or off by just the clap our hands.

Yet even with this new found technology, deep within us comes the basic sense of safety by being in light, and a sense of danger when we are in the dark. This comes from generations of humanity living in a world where light was only provided by the sun or by fire. It wasn’t until the advent of Gas used for lighting in the late 1700’s that our city streets became lit. The average family couldn’t afford candles for lighting in their homes until the early 1800’s. Electrification of rural America didn’t occur until the 1940’s. Our ancestors knew darkness in a very different way than we do.

It is no accident that the birth story of Jesus is placed at the time of the Winter Solstice, on the longest night of the year, by our church fathers. It wasn’t just to take the place of a pagan ritual as many historians like to point out, there is more mystical reasoning for choosing Dec 25th . By integrating it with the Roman winter solstice festival that celebrated the “birthday of the Unconquered Sun”, it gave meaning to Jesus as the unconquered son of Light.

Light and darkness are strong symbolic terms in this morning’s story of magi coming from the East following a star, looking for the new king of the Jews. This story sparks a lot of speculation about “who were these men; where did they come from; what celestial event occurred that allowed them to know about Jesus’ birth or allowed them to follow this star; why didn’t the wise men in Jerusalem see this same celestial event; why was King Herod caught so off guard about this event?”

If we approach this story as a factual event, we are left with multiple unanswerable questions. Science hasn’t been able to establish a verifiable celestial event that gives validity to the story. Until the year 350 A.D. there was no continuity of celebrating Jesus’ birth. Up to that point Jesus’ birthday was celebrated in March, April, May, and November by various church traditions. To look at this story as factual events presents a good deal of consternation.

However, what if we look at this story as a parabolic telling of a truth; meaning what if we think of this marvelous story of Magi visiting the baby Jesus as a parable – a story that doesn’t necessarily have to be factual to be true? By doing this we are then allowed to ask a completely differ set of questions. Questions like, “what do the Magi represent, what does King Herod represent, what does Jesus represent, and maybe in relationship to this story, what does the star in the sky represent?”

Looking at this story from the Jewish perspective that Matthew brings, the visit of the Magi represents the gentile world acknowledging God’s active entry into history and bringing truth to the world through the new born Jesus. The Magi also present a challenge to the established authority – meaning Rome, but more importantly to Herod a puppet King. A challenge saying their reign on earth is a kingdom that is representative of darkness and not in accordance to God’s desire for justice. If this star was leading these Magi to Jesus, there is no reason for their stopping off to visit Herod. They did not come to pay homage to Herod or Rome, but to Jesus. Herod represents the evil in the world that Jesus is to combat.

The star doesn’t just appears in the sky, but it moves, it leads these men to find Jesus. Even after visiting with Herod, the star re-appears and turns south to Bethlehem, stopping to the place that Jesus is to be found. As they enter the house, they recognize Jesus as the true king. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is referred to as “the light come into the world.” We are also told that the darkness did not receive the light. This is all strong imagery about Jesus, imagery found in all the Gospels about how God has entered into the darkness of this world through the birth of this little baby Jesus.

We tell this story every year. It is a part of our Christmas heritage, it’s in our carols, it’s in our scriptures, it’s in our pageants, but do we recognize it in our world? Do we see this as history or can we see this story as current events? Do we see the star that guided the Magi active in our world? Was this star, this light, an only one time event? I think not. Are we like Herod and often caught off guard not recognizing this star when it is shining upon us? I think if we don’t look around us, then yes, we will not recognize that the star of David still shines.

I think we have the star of the Magi right here at Mountain View. It comes to us in the form of a homeless man named Ed. Many of you are aware of Ed, maybe even have an uneasiness about his presence on the church property. We’ve had members, in the past, call the police on him. We’ve had council discussions as whether to let Ed hang out on our property. Ed has brought a lot of uneasiness to this congregation. As a small example, “what do we do with/for Ed as the sub-zero temperatures came just after Christmas?”

Let me share with you why I see Ed as the star of the Magi. When I see Ed, I am reminded that all is not good in the world. That there is still hunger, homelessness, isolation and loneliness, that we live in a world where justice is not practiced by our social policies. Yet when I chat with Ed, I find a man who is well read, resourceful, kind hearted, wounded by life. I find a man who is no different than anyone of us in this building this morning. I find a creation of God who I am related to, as a child of God. Ed is a reminder to me of the work that needs to be done, to work for the justice that the darkness of this world wishes to take advantage of. I see Ed as a gift from God to Mountain View. Jesus was a gift from God. We are gifts from God, a light to the world of darkness. We are the magic of light. The question is, do we see ourselves as this light or are we fearful of the light? As we celebrate the gift of the Magi, will we embrace who we are as the representatives of the light, or will we hid in darkness? It’s a new year and the light of the world is at our doorsteps. Amen

]]>http://mtviewchurch.com/the-magic-of-light-by-rev-steven-r-mitchell-1042015/feed/0Christmas Eve Candle Light Service Dec 24th, at 5 p.m.http://mtviewchurch.com/christmas-eve-candle-light-service-dec-24th-at-5-p-m/
http://mtviewchurch.com/christmas-eve-candle-light-service-dec-24th-at-5-p-m/#commentsMon, 22 Dec 2014 20:31:56 +0000http://mtviewchurch.com/?p=6867Dear friends, as I look outside of my office window it is snowing! Can you believe that just a few days before Christmas, snow is gracing our presents. As I sit here working on the Christmas Eve worship, playing through a host of traditional pop Christmas songs, seeing what I would like to use as prelude music to prepare us as we gather before Christmas as a family of faith, I am reminded of the reason why we come together. We come together whether at church or with family, because it is a time to share the love that the birth of Christ brings to our hearts. I personally wish to invite you, your family, and your friends to this years special time of worship. We are going to have a great time singing old familiar Christmas hymns, reading of the Christmas story, special reading by Marcia Hall and Dawn Skerritt, solo’s and duets from Virginia McDugall, Ross Hodgkins, Pastor Steven, and Tom Skerritt, and communion. I hope many of you will be able to join us as we gather at 5 pm for this special time of celebrating the eve of Christmas. For those of you who will not be able to join us, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessing for the New Year!

Peace,

Pastor Steven

]]>http://mtviewchurch.com/christmas-eve-candle-light-service-dec-24th-at-5-p-m/feed/0Pastor Jeannine Lamb’s passinghttp://mtviewchurch.com/pastor-jeannine-lambs-passing/
http://mtviewchurch.com/pastor-jeannine-lambs-passing/#commentsMon, 22 Dec 2014 19:10:12 +0000http://mtviewchurch.com/?p=6865Dear friends. I received a phone call yesterday from Rev John Fiscus, sharing the news of Rev Jeannine Lamb’s sudden death, due to a heart attack. Jeannine was our interim pastor for six months after Craig Peterson moved to California, before accepting a call to First Congregational UCC in Pueblo, CO. I am sure that you share in your sympathy with 1st Congregational as the mourn the passing of their pastor.
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